Stricter set-back standards and an individualized drilling permit process may soon become part of the city's oil and gas ordinance

After a personal testimony describing life without local oil and gas regulation in a county on the Permian Basin, the City Council’s advisory board on the topic began the first of several discussions about amending the current ordinance, at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 9.

The Citizen’s Oil and Gas Advisory Committee is tasked with recommending changes to Lubbock’s regulation of mineral activity based on resident’s requests and expert presentations.

After months of research, the committee began drafting initial proposals to create what are likely to be stricter regulations.

One recommended change would increase set-back standards, or the distance an oil well is required to be from a structure like a home or business.

The city currently requires a distance of 300 feet, but that standard is not enforced in cases where the mineral rights of the land on which a structure is located is owned by the oil company, according to city planner Randy Henson.

“Most of our drilling companies will get as far away from development as they can, for their own good,” he said. “But, in our ordinance, there is a clause that makes that 300 feet an ineffective number.”

Because of potential health risks associated with drilling close to a place of residence, Dr. Anne Epstein, a committee member representing the Board of Health, would like to increase the set back standard to 1,500 feet.

Still other committee members said this issue and others, including the requirement of a closed-loop drilling system, should be examined on a case-by-case basis. For this reason, assistant city attorney Laura Pratt recommends a committee to oversee drilling permit applications.

“It would actually review permits for new wells to be drilled within the city of Lubbock before they go to the City Council,” Pratt said. “In most cases, that permit process can be used to individualize each well that’s drilled.”

Ideally, she said, the permit committee would consist of slotted positions so that the group would have the necessary experience to detail specific requirements for each new well.

The recommendations proposed have not yet been voted on, and the next step after Monday’s meeting is to consolidate all of the recommendations to a single document for review before the committee meets again, said Chairman Zach Brady.

“In the next couple of months, the committee will begin a mark-up process for those proposals which will end with a vote on the individual proposals,” he said. “The committee will then make a recommendation to the City Council on whether or not that should be incorporated in our ordinance.”

Voting on the proposals will begin at the next scheduled meeting on Monday, Jan. 13.